Friday, November 03, 2006

I've had the privilege both of being an editor, and of being edited.Being edited is hard, because it means somebody else gets to fool around with your prose.A common remark at newspapers is that you should try to get your copy edited by two people. The first one changes what you wrote, and the second one changes it back.Then there's copy editing. Now, that's something any writer really shouldn't scoff at, but these days it seems like copy editors are mere 12-year-olds with no actual world knowledge and little inclination to ever open a dictionary.I worked as a copy editor at a big paper for a while, and the rest of the crew laughed at me for always having an open dictionary on my desk. Their thinking seemed to be "The buck stops with me. If I don't know what that word means or how it should be spelled, then why the hell would any of our readers know?"That's too bad. When I had my own copy edited, I always told the guys "Make me look good!" And sometimes they saved my ass.Other times, no. Spell-check was their friend on a rushed late shift, but it was seldom my friend. We all know that a computer can't tell whether you meant "to," "too" or "two."So, just for the heck of it (and I hope I don't make any enemies today), here are some of the words I've seen misspelled on food blogs.Palate. It's in your mouth. It is not spelled "palette," which is an artist's paint board. It is also not spelled "pallet," which is a wooden cargo platform. You don't want those things in your mouth.Pore (as in "pore over a book"). It is not spelled "pour," which seems a lot foodier, but how (or what), exactly, would you pour over a book? Syrup?Caesar (as in salad). I know, it just looks wrong, but "Ceasar" is wronger.Shiitake. Ubiquitous mushroom of Japanese origin, now part of the American food landscape — but we haven't yet earned the right to drop that second "i." Not "shitake." Also not "shittake." Spaghetti. You may think that "h" is useless, but Italians know what it's there for.Mascarpone. Yummy, melty, slippery, creamy cheese of Italian origin — you knew that. But did you know it's not "marscapone"?Artisanal. Pooty, trendy word used to describe food made by hand. I think one of the reasons it's misspelled as "artisinal" so much is that it's usually mispronounced with the accent on the second syllable. But no lessons on pronunciation today. Besides, the adjective is more commonly being shorted to "artisan" nowadays, which works just fine for me.I'm gonna stop now. Feel free to contribute any funny spellings you've seen.By the way, there's a whole other category or two of food misspellings: Menu writing, and produce stand signs. Cute as can be. My brother told me yesterday about the "Mandrain Chicken" on his cafeteria's offerings. And how many times have we seen "avacados" for sale at roadside vendors?(Actually, I have a theory about that "avacado" spelling. I think they do that to seem bumpkinly adorable. I said to my brother, "It's like calling your moving company something sweet like 'Starving Students' when it's actually run by thugs." He said, "Why not just call it 'Two Guys What Will Move Youse' ?")OK. Moving along.

36 comments:

You are so clever and entertaining~ I loved "molecular gastronomy" and I really enjoyed this blog entry. You are kinda strickt about spelling, aren't ya?I hate two words, in particular: Utilize, and methodology. Why not say "use" or "method" instead? When people use these words I instantly don't like them.

You're swimming upstream against a tide of misspelling, Cookie! Reminds me of back when I was a Hollywood script reader (sounds almost glamorous doesn't it? Yeah, sure it is, but you make more money and get more respect working as a busboy) I use to read script after script by people who couldn't tell the difference between there, their, and they're to save their lives, or bear and bare, or you're, your, and yore, and its or.... well you get my drift.

And of course I would cut these illiterates down a notch in my comments, but that didn't stop the execs from paying them millions if they liked the hook.

Cute. I have a friend who used to be a copy editor locally. The tales I would hear from her.

I also remember my first real job. I was typing a memo for my boss. He wrote "complement" when it was clear from the context that he meant "compliment." I made the change and he sent it back to me, arguing that it was incorrect. I then explained the difference to him. Idiot! I so deserved a raise.

Love the food references. And whenever I see you write "molecular gastronomy," I think of that one guy on "Top Chef."

I know it's a hard one, but the difference between "its" and "it's" really needs to get figured out by many more bloggers without the assistance of copy editors. When somebody screws up the usage a bit too consistently, I stop reading them.

And I used the word "apostasy" recently on my blog, about Arianna Huffington of all people, knowing it was the perfect word without knowing exactly how it was spelled or if it even was the correct word, and a dictionary proved indispensible. (As it turned out, I had misspelled it "apostosy" but the word WAS perfect.)

Excellent! Not only was this brilliant -- as a former high school teacher, now-writer, and editor, I say brava! -- but it was useful. I had just misspelled shiitake in a chapter I was working on. Before leaving this comment, I went on a search for it and rectified that situation!

Great post :) My favorite editor...my other favorite editor, other than you...feels blessed and cursed by this gift.

Your theory about bumpkinly adorable being calculated is spot on. I remember reading an article during the 70's in I think Entrepreneur Magazine about this marketing ploy. The article could have been called "Roadside Psychology 101."

Great post! There are two common errors that drive me crazy. The first is the inverse of the one mentioned by Dagny above, namely when people write things such as "The fish complimented the wine perfectly." Unless you're in a Sopranos dream sequence involving a talking bass, you're using the wrong damn word! The second is the maddening and nonsensical use of "peaked," as in "The mushroom risotto on the menu peaked my curiosity." For crying out loud, it's piqued!

How about one no one agrees on: Chile vs Chili. Damn spice aisle at the store is a mess of conflicts on that one. I was taught chile for the crunchy thing that grows on a bush, and chili for the stuff in the bowl you don't want to eat too close to bedtime, yet at the gourmet shop where I used to work, my boss insisted that only the country is chile and everything else is chili.

Oh, and about that pooty "artisanal?" I'm banning that and "artisan" from my food vocabulary. With places like Quiznos gabbing about using "artisan" bread in their sucky, over-priced subs, it's lost all meaning.

Who She?

I live a couple of miles from the Marin County Civic Center Farmers' Market, which feeds my little blogging hobby. Hell, it feeds me, too.
Formerly employed, I'm now a bum. Happy bum. Tomato ranchin' bum.
But I'm still mad.